Epicures

Many of you (all 2) will probably avert your eyes, if you...

faxmachines — Sat, 11 May 2013 05:32:13 -0400

Many of you (all 2) will probably avert your eyes, if you haven’t already. If you’re still with me, get ready because I decided to try the infamous “peanut butter and pickles” combination.

The version tested: almond butter and Grandma’s homemade pickles (on the sweeter side) on a Wasa rye cracker.

Result: Holy Hell, batman!!! And it’s vegan, gluten free- and basically RAW if you forgo cracker for some raw bread or just try the two together! Woah!

Norwegian inspired brunch- Sautéed leeks, pickled scape,...

faxmachines — Fri, 10 May 2013 14:23:15 -0400

Norwegian inspired brunch-

Sautéed leeks, pickled scape, avocado, cilantro and yolky farm fresh eggs- for building mini tacos or what-have-you with Cayanne Lefse

Went to a BBQ out here in the sticks- I knew that would entail...

faxmachines — Sun, 05 May 2013 20:41:46 -0400

Went to a BBQ out here in the sticks- I knew that would entail lots of meat and dairy (sure enough: pulled pork sandwiches, classic coleslaw, potato salad and pies, oh my!)

I was happy to contribute this dish, and so was everyone else! Win, win :-) I prepared it the night before using the other half of the cabbage I’d harvested for the soup.

Slice cabbage thinner than a pencil and not too long (people need to take bites and not worry about food on the face) add a handful of cilantro, some diced jalapeño, thinly sliced apples, lime juice and a little bit of olive oil. It may have benefitted from some salt, and would be reminiscent of a Thailand staple, som tam, if one were to add roasted peanuts.

I had a head of cabbage waiting to be dismantled and with the...

faxmachines — Sun, 05 May 2013 14:58:17 -0400

I had a head of cabbage waiting to be dismantled and with the recent snow, a soup was sounding like a fine undertaking. I’ve been hearing how “cleansing” cabbage soup is so I decided to have a go at one.

I cut up two potatoes and browned them in olive oil (about 5 min) and proceeded to toss in onion and garlic. Then came the stock- about 5 cups of water and 3/4 of a Rapunzel vege cube. Bring to a simmer then add cabbage and white beans. Continue to simmer until cabbage softens.

Taste and season if you wish- I threw in fresh thyme. On its own, a tasty light soup but when you add say…Choloula- bang bang yum yum spicy happy texture soup!

I recently found myself out in the midwest, in the middle of a...

faxmachines — Fri, 03 May 2013 15:52:39 -0400

I recently found myself out in the midwest, in the middle of a SNOW STORM (in MAY!)

Suffice to say, it’s not always easy to eat well when you’re limited to Walmart as your main market :-/ but have faith! This simple salad is beyond easy to make, and gets better as it sits in the fridge.

I used Canadian Wild Rice (sent from Grandma!) black beans, cilantro, onions, and apples. I’ve made a version w dried cranberries and I bet celery would be great in here too.

For the dressing I just mixed up some Dijon, apple cider vinegar, pepper and a little bit of olive oil (coconut oil is impossible to find out here but no worries!)

Yummy, nutritious salad!

Breaks during teacher training are brief so here’s an...

faxmachines — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 13:28:56 -0500

Breaks during teacher training are brief so here’s an example of a meal between practice and more practice…

Raw cacao, bee pollen, vanilla lucuma protein, maca, coconut butter, cayenne, chia seed…

Farmers Market Miso

faxmachines — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 14:07:25 -0500

Farmers Market Miso

This soup is stupid-level-easy to make. Take a few handfuls of...

faxmachines — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 16:41:02 -0400

This soup is stupid-level-easy to make.

Take a few handfuls of your favorite greens- I used arugula and osaka greens from Maggie’s Farm- they are the nicest people at the Farmer’s Market- and I love their green blends!!! And herbs!!

Also threw in some dill, cilantro, crushed garlic, chile pepper, scallion, ginger (doesn’t it look like a Scorpion or am I just a crazy obsessed Scorpio?!) blend with an avocado and water to your preference of thickness. I used a cold-pressed green juice since I was doing a “green cleanse”

I drizzled some of my special Olive Oil (from WWOOFing in Italy) and if I hadn’t dropped the jar into the sink, I would have topped with some nice, crunchy finishing salt. One can only dream.

I was shocked at how filling it turned out! I used a food processor but if you’re powerful enough to own a Vitamix, that would probably get it totally smooth. I didn’t mind the small chunks.

Lentil Stuffing Here’s a fun one: I accidentally began...

faxmachines — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 16:20:26 -0400

Lentil Stuffing

Here’s a fun one:

I accidentally began to overcook my lentils! When I got to the stove I saw some were beginning to cling to the bottom, and I ended up with a kind of mashed lentil situation. To keep it from drying any further, and in an effort to moisten up the batch, I put in about a tablespoon of coconut oil. It melted in and brought everything back to life!

I proceeded to blend in chopped Persian cucumber, onions, an array of herbs, some chile and lemon juice.

Put in the fridge so flavors could do there thing and voila! A delicious lentil salad that actually tasted like a refreshing version of STUFFING!

Sold!!!

I am responsible for Thanksgving this year! So far I know I am...

faxmachines — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 16:09:00 -0400

I am responsible for Thanksgving this year! So far I know I am cooking for 6 but I will be extending invites to neighbors and such, so who knows- I think it’s going to be important I start practicing what I will be making, as I tend to be entirely improvisational when meal planning.

Here was a starting point- 3 easy dishes, two of which could be made the day before. The chili garlic greens (I used Swiss Chard) must be done just before meal-time. The baked yams can be done a day in advance, I used coconut oil to rim the baking dish, and a little coconut milk in the mash, along with ginger and topped with coconut flakes, macademia and cinnamon.

And the lentil “stuffing”- I will make it’s own post- but supa dupa easy squeezy!!! And tasted better day after day…until it was gone.

That takes care of a few meals! Any fun dishes you’re trying out this season??

Vegan Waldorf Kale, Shredded Carrot, Celery, Walnuts, Raison,...

faxmachines — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 16:00:32 -0400

Vegan Waldorf

Kale, Shredded Carrot, Celery, Walnuts, Raison, Apple in a Dijon/RWV dressing … Thinking this will be one of the dishes I make for thanksgiving this year. It’s the first time I’ve been responsible for feeding everyone. I am excited!!! Have any of you done vegan/veg thanksgiving? What are your favorite dishes around the fall? …It’s 80 bleeping degrees here all week so, unfortunately, I can’t do too many traditional dishes :(

Roasted beets (my new staple from the farmer’s market)...

faxmachines — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 15:47:05 -0400

Roasted beets (my new staple from the farmer’s market) cucumber chive goat cheese from the happy goats at Soledad farms (vegan and delicious without it) tangerines and pistachios on swiss chard.

I will be the first to admit that sometimes I go “too far” with...

faxmachines — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 12:17:59 -0400

I will be the first to admit that sometimes I go “too far” with my culinary creations. But I also consider my dishes to be works of art (generally) - each one illiciting different emotions and critiques.

In this case, I wanted to experiment with Kasha. Kasha is new to me but has been around for at least a thousand years- making it one of the oldest dishes in Eastern European Slavic cuisine. In English, kasha generally refers to buckwheat groats (gluten free!) but in Slavic Europe, it refers to porridge in general. With that in mind, I proceeded into my culinary exploration and expression.

Traditional preparation suggests boiling with milk or water and adding butter, cream and honey. Wanting to keep this vegan, I boiled my kasha with coconut milk, ginger and a cinnamon stick. I added salt as per bag instructions but it ended up WAY too salty (DAMN YOU, SODIUM! FOILED AGAIN!!!) to correct this error- I thought- okay, maybe topping with avocado will help. The flavors of avocado fruit are beautifully enhanced by salt.

Now we have some of the salt issue corrected but it’s all pretty mushy at this point and being a student of Japanese culinary philosophy, I value texture contrasts in my experience.

In comes watermelon (also enhanced by salt- and the juiciness offsets the dehydration caused by sodium overload) and since I’m addicted to herbs, what’s better with watermelon than mint?! NOTHING.

So there you have it. Basically a few minutes in the mind of a food artist.
Thank you for flying with us, see you next time.

Tonight’s floral blend…

faxmachines — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 18:10:01 -0400

Tonight’s floral blend…

Photo

faxmachines — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 17:52:49 -0400

Chia seed pudding. Lightly sweetened with coconut sugar. Happy...

faxmachines — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 07:47:45 -0400

Chia seed pudding. Lightly sweetened with coconut sugar. Happy fall

Photo

faxmachines — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 02:25:06 -0400

Photo

faxmachines — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 02:23:39 -0400

Photo

faxmachines — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 02:22:23 -0400

Between the greens and the beet, there is a piece like this.

faxmachines — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 02:20:22 -0400

Between the greens and the beet, there is a piece like this.